This invention relates to convenience accessories for the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, and in particular relates to beverage holders that may be removably installed into the interior of the motor vehicle.
The invention is more particularly concerned with a cup holder, tray, container, or similar accessory item that may be mounted onto interior structure of the motor vehicle, e.g., on a vertical post or pillar that is situated between driver""s and passenger""s positions of a motor vehicle.
Recently, small or compact sporty vehicles have gained popularity with a number of drivers, and one of these vehicles is the Cooper Mini, manufactured by BMW. In these vehicles, there is typically only a limited amount of room on the dash or between the driver and passenger, and so many common accessory items, such as cupholders, have been omitted. The design of the interior of the Cooper Mini includes a console just under the center part of the dash, which is bounded on its left and right sides by a pair of vertical posts or columns. However, no one, to date, has suggested any practical means for utilizing the existing design structure to support such accessory items as beverage container holders.
In addition, because of the limited room on the interior of these smaller cars, any accessory that is mounted at the front interior, i.e., under the dash, will be in the way for some maneuvers, such as moving the seat forward, and has to have the capability of moving out of the way when necessary.
Moreover, there is frequently a need to place an accessory tray securely somewhere in the front interior of the vehicle, for example, to hold a sandwich or other meal item to be consumed by the driver or passenger while in the vehicle. However, to date no useful or effective accessory tray has been proposed for a vehicle of this type.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle accessory system that can be readily installed and used in a Cooper Mini or other vehicle having a similar interior design.
It is another object to provide a beverage holder system for the interior of a motor vehicle which can be easily installed onto an oval cross-section vertical post or column found at the front interior of the vehicle, and which is convenient to use and will also hold a beverage container securely in the vehicle.
It is a more specific object to provide a beverage holder accessory system that permits a great deal of flexibility in arrangement along the front columns of the vehicle interior, and which can easily be moved out of the way when necessary.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle accessory holder assembly is adapted for use in the interior of a motor vehicle of the type in which there are one or more generally vertical support posts. In one exemplary embodiment, the vehicle has a pair of columns of an oval cross section at the front of the passenger compartment of the vehicle, i.e., below the dash and laterally spaced from one another between the front passenger""s position and the driver""s position. The assembly has one or more than one accessory holder support brackets that mount on the columns. The brackets are in the form of a clamp member having an aperture of oval cross section dimensioned to fit onto one of the vertical support posts. The oval cross section has a major axis which is oriented in the fore-and-aft direction as is that of the oval of the column profile. A threaded fastener, a hand lever, or equivalent means allow for tightening the clamp member in place on the associated support column. Each bracket also has a vertical socket positioned on the clamp member and the socket is aligned along the major axis of the oval cross-section aperture. The cup holder or other accessory holder has a vertical pin that fits removably into the socket of the support bracket. This permits the cup holder or other device to be installed and removed as desired by the driver or passenger, and permits the cup holder to swing out of the way, i.e., from left to right, for example, to create space when moving the passenger seat forward to access the rear of the passenger compartment.
Where the accessory device is a coffee cup holder or other beverage cup holder the same may have a generally cylindrical receptacle member that receives and supports a coffee cup or other drink container. A strut or similar supporting member extends from one side of the receptacle member, and a pin extends downward from the strut to be received into the socket of the support bracket. Favorably, there may be a pair of cutouts disposed oppositely on an upper portion of the receptacle member to accommodate the cup handle of the beverage cup.
Alternatively, or additionally, the accessory holder may includes a horizontal platform and a mount on the platform for removably holding a cellular phone instrument; a vase for holding one or more cut flowers; or frame for holding a picture.
The support brackets may also be used to support a tray member, in which case the tray member has a flat support shelf and the pin (or preferably a pair of pins) depend from a rear portion of said flat support shelf. These pins fit into the socket(s) of the respective support brackets.
The tray may itself have one or more sockets, so that a beverage holder of this type may be supported on the tray, by means of the pin of the beverage cup holder.
The above and many other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will be more fully appreciated from the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment, which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying Drawing.